Rush Hour
by CSakuraS
Summary: The van breaks down on the way back from a case, leaving Naru and Mai to take the train back to the office. But as Mai finds out, there is a reason Naru avoids the train. (Post-series. Written for the 2018 Ghost Hunt Exchange.)


Written for RaisedOnRadio

* * *

When the van broke down on the way back from a case, the one saving grace had been that it wasn't in the middle of nowhere. Instead, it happened in the middle of the city, right before the evening rush hour, and that was a nightmare in itself.

After a harried call to the towing company, they waited for the tow truck to arrive, which considering they were blocking an entire lane, made it feel like hours.

In the meantime, Naru got to packing. There was nothing that could be done for the cameras and other heavy equipment in the van, but evidently unwilling to let his precious data fall into a stranger's hands, he loaded the tapes into two bags for them to carry.

Mai watched this with a raised eyebrow. "Naru, I really don't think anyone's gonna want to steal videos of someone's house."

He just leveled a glare at her, which Mai understood to mean that she was expected to guard these tapes with her life, if need be.

Naru turned to Lin. "Mai and I will drop these off at the office."

Lin nodded. "Very well. Then I will accompany the van to the auto shop."

They watched as the van got loaded onto the tow truck (Mai cringed, imagining the cameras getting banged up in the process), and then it drove off, leaving her and Naru standing on the side of the road with their luggage.

"Well, I guess we should get going," Mai said. But Naru remained standing by the road. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a taxi."

"Are you kidding?" she gaped. "We're like on the other side of the city! And with this traffic, it's going to take forever. By the time we arrive at the office, the bill will be _enormous_."

He frowned. "I prefer not to take the train. It gets crowded."

Mai rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, it's not _that_ bad. At least it's not the morning commute."

He still didn't budge.

"Naru, honestly, it won't even take a half hour by train. Would you really rather spend the whole evening sitting in a taxi?"

Then he sighed. "Fine," he said, though still sounding reluctant.

Mai led the way to the nearest station. "So let me get this straight, you've just been taking taxis this whole time? How long have you been living here again?"

"It was convenient while I was living in the hotel."

"Sure." Jeez, it must be nice to be able to afford that. Mai shook her head.

The platform wasn't too crowded, and the train came promptly. When they boarded, all the seats had already been taken, but there was room to stand near the doors. So far, so good.

But after a couple of stops, a large crowd filed in, and the two of them were forced a little further into the train car, next to the seats. Still, it wasn't too bad.

The train stopped at another platform. More riders managed to squeeze in, and now they were truly crammed like sardines. This…maybe this was a bad idea.

Mai glanced up at Naru guiltily. She might be used to this, but if Naru had been avoiding trains this whole time, he definitely wasn't. And, she recalled belatedly, he didn't like to be touched. Definitely a bad idea.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

He didn't answer, but his discomfort was plain to see, not only from the scowl on his face, but because of the way he hunched over her, trying to create the slightest amount of space between himself and the people surrounding him.

That was the strange thing though. He kept drawing closer to her the whole time, as if he preferred contact with her over a bunch of strangers. Okay, so maybe that wasn't strange; in these circumstances, anyone would prefer the company of someone they were familiar with. But this was Naru. And somehow, that made things different.

Mai gulped. Truthfully, this was a little too close for comfort, even for her. She was practically sandwiched between him and another man, her face brushing against Naru's shoulder.

She glanced at him again. His eyes were tightly shut, as if he were trying to block it all out.

The train came to another stop. She glimpsed some movement from behind Naru, and then suddenly, he was pushed forward, pressing them against each other. Mai's cheeks flared.

But at the same time, over his shoulder, she spotted an open space.

Could it be? She stood on her tip toes to confirm. Yes, one of the seated passengers had just left the car. There was an open seat, right behind him!

"Naru, hurry!" she hissed.

"What?"

"Go go go! Now!"

When he didn't react, Mai grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him backwards. He fell into the seat with a grunt of surprise.

"That's a little better, right?" she grinned down at him. It was still cramped, but at least he wasn't surrounded by people on all sides. And with her standing in front of him, she could shield him from the crowd.

He looked stunned for a moment, but then his expression changed to that of wry amusement. "Do I look like a senior citizen, Mai?"

"I dunno. You sure act like a grumpy old grandpa all the time. Maybe I mistook you for one." She stuck her tongue out at him.

The train set off again.

Still wearing a wry smile, Naru sat back and closed his eyes. This time, he seemed more relaxed.

Mai watched him for a while, captivated. The sun's dying rays backlit him from the window, making him appear otherworldly.

He really was so pretty.

She blinked. Wait, how long had she been staring down at him? Mai quickly averted her gaze. Only to then meet the eyes of the old woman sitting next to him, who gave her a knowing smile.

Mai opted to stare out the window instead.

But as she mentally calculated how many stops they had left before Shibuya, how many minutes remained before they left the train and began squabbling again, she decided to appreciate this strange, temporary span of time. Filled with a kind of peace. A kind of excitement. And maybe just a bit of regret that it would soon be over.


End file.
